HBA-MSH H.B. 1299 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1299 By: Kuempel County Affairs 2/19/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, a county does not have the authority to require a county employee participating in the county sick leave pool to donate sick leave time. A county is unable to prohibit individuals who do not donate sick leave from abusing the service provided by the pool. House Bill 1299 authorizes a county to require employees to donate accrued sick leave or accrued vacation leave time before being eligible to withdraw time from the pool and increases the amount of such leave that an employee may donate before leaving employment with the county. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency or institution. ANALYSIS House Bill 1299 amends the Local Government Code to authorize the commissioners court of a county, by rule, to require a district, county, or precinct employee to enroll in the county sick leave pool as a condition for eligibility to use time contributed to the pool under certain circumstances and to transfer at least one day of accrued sick leave time or, if allowed, accrued vacation leave time as a condition of enrollment. The bill authorizes an employee who is terminated or who resigns or retires to donate not more than 10 days of accrued sick leave or vacation leave time to take effect immediately before the effective date of the termination, resignation, or retirement. EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2001.